“Good place for an engineering career ”

Comp & Benefits

Work/Life Balance

Senior Management

Career Opportunities

Current Employee - Senior Manager

Current Employee - Senior Manager

I have been working at Lockheed Martin

Pros

LM is huge. You can find your niche here, whatever it may be (production vs. R&D, technical vs. leadership, etc.), though it may require some active searching on your part. Salaries on average are better at large companies vs. small ones. There is a strong sense of pride in what we do. Building systems and capabilities to find bad guys and protect our fellow countrymen arguably provides a greater sense of purpose than, say, developing the latest iPhone app. Career advancement opportunities are there, provided you find a good manager to support you. The corporate culture being flowed down from the top is grounded in integrity and doing the right thing. Having had the opportunity to see upper management in person, I believe it is genuine. There is increased oversight and restrictions on who gets into management and who stays. In recent years, I have seen two managers removed from leadership. Neither of them looked out for their direct reports well and one of them displayed questionable ethics. I consider it a very good thing that the leadership bar is being raised.

Cons

Nothing LM-specific, just typical large corporation issues (I have worked at several). It can be a challenge finding the right area and group for your interests because there are so many to choose from. On large programs especially, it is easy for dead weight to hang around unnoticed (perhaps some people would consider this a Pro), and it isn't easy getting rid of them. While average salaries may be higher at large companies, it is probably easier for top technical talent to move up quicker in smaller companies.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

This is an awkward section, because I am management myself. My advice would be to make sure you are taking care of your top technical talent as well as your top managerial talent. Top engineers can easily outproduce several average engineers. Paying them a fraction more than their peers is a bargain and shouldn't require an act of Congress.

Commitment to EthicsSalaryOpportunities for Exciting / Challenging AssignmentsAbility to Move between Divisions/DepartmentsWide Range of Georgraphic LocationsWide Range of Products

Cons

Leadership in Electronic Systems Area is totally LackingOld Boys Club and CultureLack of Communication with Employees on Key IssuesTreats Employees like #s instead of PeoplePoor Talent ManagementLack of Strategic DirectionToo Much Bureacracy and too Difficult to Suggest New and Different Ways of Doing ThingsManagement out of Touch with Reality of Employees

Advice to ManagementAdvice

The company needs to be more open to changing the way we do things. Making or suggesting changes is not accepted and we have too much non-value add process and reviews. Managment needs to make decisions instead of managing by consensus. Level of empowerment for employees is very low - for instance is it really value add that a Vice President has to approve all travel in our organization? It is simply ridiculous.